Stalled US-Iran Talks Show Limits of Pakistan Mediation Push
Source: Iranian Foreign Ministry/AFP/Getty Images
The US and Iran failed to kick off a second round of peace talks this weekend despite a last-minute push by Pakistan, delivering a blow to Islamabad’s efforts to broker a settlement to end the two-month-old war.
After days of anticipation, President Donald Trump on Saturday called off a planned trip by his special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Islamabad for round two of peace negotiations with Iran, saying the Islamic Republic had “offered a lot, but not enough” to merit new discussions. Iran’s foreign minister instead made two separate visits to Islamabad on the weekend, with Axios reporting that a new proposal was made to the US and conveyed through Pakistani mediators.